Dressing Side Of Bench Grinding Wheel

old toolmaker

old toolmaker

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I recently purchased a 6" Bench Grinder for sharpening drills, lathe tools, etc.
The wheels that came with the grinder wobble a bit, causing excessive vibration, so I want to dress the sides of the wheels as well as the periphery to true them up. I am open to suggestions for a good way to do this. I have a star dressing tool as well as a single point diamond dressing nib. I don't have access to a surface grinder so I can't dress it in that way. Any ideas out there?

Thanks

Dick
 
I guess I would check the shaft and bushing first, then make sure the flange washers run true.

To dress the sides, the only way is to build a fixture to hold the diamond and be able to move it perpendicular to the shaft. Maybe something that rotates around a pivot? Like a dowel pin or shoulder bolt. Maybe thread the diamond shank for adjustment? I don't know any other way to do it.
 
Dick---I use a section of an old diamond saw blade to true up the front and sides of a grinding wheel that has a slight wobble---if you are very careful not putting pressure on it will work good--the fine diamonds dress the sides very easy to take the small wobble out and remember never use the sides of the wheel for grinding--they are not made for side pressure----I just use my cut-off thin blade in my angle grinder to cut pie sections of the diamond blade and then drill a hole in the pieces to hang them on the grinder stand for convenience---use the flat side of the blade for even dressing----there are always good second uses for old diamond blades---Dave
 
I have a few old diamond penetrators from Rockwell hardness testers, and I just freehand it. A light, careful touch will suffice to take the high spots off, and it doesn't have to be perfect since you won't be grinding on it (right?). It will make a huge difference in vibration.

It probably wouldn't be too difficult to rig up a pivoting arm that you could clamp to the tool rest that had a tapped hole on the end so that the nib could be adjusted, as Jim said. Look at a few pictures of Sterling drill grinders. They have that sort of rig. But they have to have a flat face because you do grind on it with them.
 
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Made new flanges for my Chinese made 6" grinder. Virtually eliminated any wobble/vibration. The stamped flanges were donated to the scrap pile. May use them as fender washers later.
 
I have always thought it ridiculous that manufacturers provide cheap poor fitting plastic bushings and stamped crooked flanges with grinding wheels. I make my own. Why is this?
Robert
 
Robert---you didn't mention along with the cheap plastic bushings and flanges--the wheels that the center hole isn't 90 degrees perfect---that is why after mounting better flanges we still may need to dress the sides to take the wobble out---quality and company pride in producing products has been lost by a lot of companies---we as hobby machinists take pride in being able to correct this problem though----Dave
 
If you need to grind on the side, you must use a recessed type wheel designed for side load.
 
I watched the u-tube video that PaPa_Jack provided the link for and picked up several good points I may be able to use. Some of the guy's terminology leaves a bit to be desired but I got the point despite that.
In the past I have hand dressed the wheel sides to eliminate wobble and it does work. I have decided to design and turn up new wheel flanges to fit my 6" grinder and I will be incorporating an adjustable balancing feature in the outside flange on both wheels. The weights will reside in a recess on the outside flange surface and will be slotted for screws. I found the idea in The Machinists Second Bedside Reader by Guy Lautard. I have all three of the books.

Dick
 
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